另一角度考察的思考--西方研究当代中国史的一些问题

研究历史,特别是20世纪的世界各国史,国际环境的影响往往是巨大的.因此,加强国际间的学术交流,不仅是当今史学研究的时代特征,也是历史发展大趋势的刚性要求.不同国别、环境的历史亲历者之间的交流,有助于客观地了解历史的真实的面貌;不同资料、档案、文献的交流可以发挥互补作用,有助于了解历史面貌的全面性和完整性,也有助于在比较中去伪存真;不同学术观点的交流和交锋,有助于研究方法和思维方式的多样性、灵活性和科学性.既然是不同角度的考察,差异就是难免的.就拿西方研究当代中国史的一些情况来看,角度不同、观点不同、立场不同,对同一历史事件的分析和结论,往往差异很大,甚至完全相反.也许正是这种意识形态的不同,才更是需要国际学术合作与交流的一个重要理由.

Reflections on Investigations from Another Perspective--Several Problems Concerning Western Studies of Contemporary Chinese History

International environment often exerts tremendous influence on historical studies, especially on the studies of the 20th-century history of various countries in the world. The enhancement of international academic exchanges are therefore not only a temporal characteristic of current historical studies but also an imperative of the general trend of historical development. First, contacts among eyewitnesses of historical events in different countries and environments are of help for understanding the truth about these events. Next, exchanges of data, archives and documents contribute to mutual complementation and help get a comprehensive and complete picture of the historical events. In the process of comparison the false will be eliminated and the true retained. Third, the exchange and confrontation of academic views will give rise to more diversified, more flexible and more scientific research methods and ways of thinking. Investigations from different perspectives will result in divergences in one way or the other. Take the Western studies of contemporary Chinese history for example, the investigation of the same historical event from different perspectives, different viewpoints and different stands often lead to widely divergent, and even diametrically opposed analyses and conclusions.